In Your Orbit
by plutoxomars
Summary: Riley and Farkle develop feelings for each other. Chaos ensues. [in progress]
1. Just Jupiter

Riley hears Farkle before she sees him.

"Riles!"

She whips her head around to see his usual smile plastered on his face. She can't help the grin that comes over her.

"Hey, Farkle. How was your weekend with your parents?"

He hesitates before answering her. "It wasn't too bad. Sorry I couldn't answer your texts though, there was a lot going on."

Riley notices his hesitation, though, and wonders how his weekend really went. She notices these kinds of things. She picks up on the falters in his expression more than others do.

She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can form the words, he cuts her off.

"So, where's Maya?"

"She didn't come by this morning for breakfast. I texted her a few times but she didn't answer. I'm sure it's fine, she does this sometimes."

Farkle isn't sure what to say, so instead he glances down at her. He likes how her eyes seem to always shine the right way. He feels his heart hammering in his chest and he wills it to slow.

Riley's phone suddenly buzzes and he averts his gaze as she scrambles to get her phone out.

"It's Maya," she says aloud, "She's gonna meet us at school."

"I can't even remember the last time she didn't come to school with us," Farkle says.

Riley can't get her mind off of this until Farkle starts talking enthusiastically about their astronomy class together and she can't help but get drawn in. Despite the thoughts running through her head, she can't peel her eyes away from his passionate smile.

As they walk into school, Riley is laughing at a science pun he made up when she sees them.

There they are by the lockers, Maya and Lucas, standing way too close for Riley's liking. How long have they been standing like this? _Why _are they standing like this?

"Peaches!" Riley shouts towards Maya across the hall. "Maya!" Riley adds when she doesn't acknowledge her.

Maya turns her head slightly and waves with a small smirk on her face, but makes no move to approach Riley. Riley doesn't hide her confusion as it overcomes her face. She turns to Farkle.

"Farkle...have they always been this close?" Riley asks referring to Maya and Lucas. "Does Maya seem off to you lately?"

Farkle looks over at the two standing close together and shrugs. "I'm sure she'd be honest with us if something was going on. Besides, you guys tell each other everything."

"Yeah, you're right," Riley says, but she's still unsure. She knows Maya and her will have to have a mandatory bay window meeting later.

"Yup, now can we get to class before your dad thinks I'm starting to slack off."

After her last class, Riley texts Maya.

**Riley: **Me. You. Bay window NOW!

**Maya: **sorry Riles, homework calls.

**Riley: **Homework? Lol since when do u do that?

**Maya: **since ur pops has been on my case about my grades.

**Maya: **sorry sweetie, rain check?

**Riley: **ya sure...i guess i'll see you tomorrow?

**Read 3:02 pm. **

Riley closes her phone and does a double take at her screen when she sees Maya didn't respond for a half hour. After another half hour of pure boredom, realizing how little she does without Maya, she thinks of calling Farkle.

Her finger hovers over his contact name and she reluctantly presses call after deciding she can't deal with doing nothing anymore. At the very least, Farkle has always been a good study buddy and would never let her down.

After three short rings, Farkle answers the phone. "Hey, Riles. What's up?" She can almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Hey Farkle. Maya's been doing her own thing today and I need a study buddy. You should come over," Riley says, "I mean if you want."

"Yeah, sure. You know you can always ask if you need help with homework, or even if you just want someone there. I'll be over in 10?"

"Sounds good, use the bay window."

"See you," he hangs up.

Riley sighs and flops down on her bed. She decides she may as well take out her school work from her backpack and look through her planner. By the time she figures out what she needs to do, she hears a knock on the window. She looks over only to find the bright smile she'd recognize anywhere.

She lets him in and he swings into her room.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Riley smiles.

Farkle ducks his head with a smirk. After working for over two hours on their homework, filled with Riley interrupting with music suggestions and Farkle telling her to focus, they decide to take a break.

Riley makes them some popcorn and they sit on the edge of her bed together, idly talking about what homework they have left.

"I have that math test Friday and I don't know what to do. I've been studying really hard, but I guess I've just had a lot on my mind and some things don't make sense to me."

"What's been on your mind?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maya, I guess. And Lucas?"

Farkle's face falls for a split second and Riley barely catches it, but decides to move on. "Lucas? I thought you guys were on good terms."

"I mean, we are, but...doesn't something feel off to you? Weren't Maya and Lucas standing a little too close today? Like...how could they do that to me?"

"I don't know, Riles. If you really think so, you should try talking to them."

"I've tried...but do you really think our friendship can withstand everything?"

Farkle shrugs. "That's a question for you, not me. But I would say it has so far."

"Thanks. You always seem to know what to say. I've had a good time with you today Farkle, thanks for that."

Farkle smiled at her. "I had fun too."

"Even if all we did was homework?"

"Yeah, Riles. Anything is fun with you."

They smiled at each other but looked away when they met each other's gaze for a little too long.


	2. Closer Than Mercury

It's Friday. Friday is the day Riley has been dreading all week. Friday means Riley has her big math test. As she gets on the subway in the morning, her heart leaps into her throat and she doesn't know how much longer she can bear it.

She feels someone tap her back and stumbles back, losing her balance. Farkle reaches out to put his hands on her shoulders, just in time to steady her.

"It's just me Riles! Why are you so jumpy? It's not like we're oppositely charged," he smirks, hoping a joke will calm her down.

She shoves him lightly. "You just scared me. I'm really nervous for my math test later and I know Maya won't be joining us after school again."

"Hey, Riles, you're gonna do great. You're smarter than you think."

She looks up at Farkle and feels deeply grateful for him just then. "How do you know how to calm my nerves so well?"

"I'm a genius, it's what I do."

Riley shakes her head with a laugh and hopes her nerves will go away.

Just as Riley shuts the door to her math room, she spots him across the hallway. Gripping her test in her hands, she shouts his name, not caring who hears.

"Farkle!"

She barrels towards him. He looks alarmed, but more curious about her change in mood. Suddenly, she's right in front of him and jumps into his unsuspecting arms.

After a moment of pure happiness, Farkle lowers Riley to the ground and steps back cautiously. "Woah, woah, what happened?"

"This! This happened!" She flashes her math test at him.

"Wow, a 96? I knew you could do it. I'm so so proud of you."

"Thanks, it means a lot to me," Riley says before visibly deflating.

He notices the change right away and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wish Maya was here to see this."

"Hey, come on, this is big for you. Let's celebrate you. Why don't we go to the planetarium, my treat."

"You don't have to."

"I want to, come on, let's go."

Riley smiles and that tells him everything he needs to know.

They step into the planetarium and are directed into the main space theater. Farkle is surprised when no one is there because it's his favorite place in the city, besides his room of course, but he can't find it in himself to complain.

They take a seat in the middle of the empty theater, eyes glued to the stars above. The informative audio starts to play, but Farkle continues to add details. Eventually, they tune out the audio altogether and Riley finds she'd much rather listen to Farkle's voice than any other.

"That right there is the Delphinus Constellation. It's Latin for dolphin."

"Wait I don't see it," she mutters, pointing up above with her hand. "Is it there?"

"No, I...here," Farkle takes his own hand and reluctantly holds hers, lightly guiding her hand towards where it is. He lets go of her hand as soon as he feels a spark. He can't let himself reveal too much to her; it's already hard enough dealing with his growing feelings on his own.

"Oh, wow. It's really pretty," Riley comments, oblivious to his face heating up beside her.

"Uh-yeah, it is," he says, glancing over at her, but she doesn't notice.

After spending some more time stargazing, they decide to get ice cream. While she's working hard to stop her ice cream from melting, Farkle speaks up.

"Hey, just wanted to say again how proud I am of you. You smarty-pants."

She laughs. "You're the real smarty-pants here. I'm not the one who's number one in the class."

He doesn't deny it but changes the subject. "So, how was that for a fun day?"

"I guess it qualifies," She smirks, as she looks up at him through her eyelashes.

"Well, I'll make it even better next time you ace your math test."

"Next time?"

"Next time."


	3. Perseus and Andromeda

After spending an hour at Topanga's studying, Farkle says to the group, "So, my parents are launching that new software this weekend…"

"Oh, right," Riley chimes in, "they came out with the new version."  
"Yeah, so I was wondering if you guys wanted to come to the launch party at my house tonight," Farkle suggests, rubbing his neck nervously.

Riley smiles fondly, "We'd love to, Farkley. Of course we'll be there."

"Uh, I don't know if I can make it, dude," Lucas remarked.

Maya shrugged, "I don't know, Minkus. As fun as talking to nerds the whole night sounds, I think I might pass."  
Riley notices how Farkle's face slightly falls. "Come on guys, Farkle wants us there. This is obviously important to him."

She looks directly at Farkle to find him already smiling back at her.

"Come on, my parents even hired a DJ and set up strobe lights, it's gonna be a big thing, trust me," Farkle reassured them.

Maya and Lucas share a look and Maya sighs resignedly. "I guess I could put on my smarty pants for a couple of hours. Whaddya say, Huckleberry? Or do you have a rodeo to be at?"

Lucas chuckles. "Since you want me there so badly, I guess I'm in."

Farkle picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder. Right before walking out, Farkle smiles, "Great! So, I'll see you guys there."

Riley grins back, "You bet, Farkley."

Riley hears the pounding music before she even opens the door. The second she steps inside, she can tell it's packed with bodies. She tries to see above the swarming crowd to find one of her friends, but she can't see anyone she knows.

Suddenly, she feels a tap on her shoulder. She swings her head around to come face to face with Farkle's warm smile.

"Hey, Riles, glad you could make it," he says.

"Your parents have so many friends, I can barely move in here."

"Yeah, you're telling me. I've been waiting to talk to someone about something other than software," Farkle laughs.

Riley gives him a puzzled glance. "So, no one else is here yet? I thought I was late."

"Maya and Lucas are here, but they disappeared a while ago. But, anyway, Riles, wanna dance?"

"Absolutely," Riley replies.

They make their way over to the crowded dance floor. Farkle attempts to dance, which just turns into him doing the robot for an entire song. Riley just laughs, choosing to join him. The song ends and a slower song begins, leaving them standing awkwardly in each other's presence.

Riley decides to break the awkwardness and take initiative. She figures dancing to this song with Farkle would be better than the tension that has filled the space between them.

"Soo…," he trails off. He says, "want me to grab us some drinks?" just as Riley reaches for his hand.

Her arm becomes limp as she replies, "Yeah, sure."

Farkle pushes his way through the crowd to the drinks table, but something catches Riley's attention.

Through the people swaying back and forth, Riley sees an unmistakable short blonde with her arms around a taller, buff brunette. Her eyes widen and she can't tear her gaze away, even though she knows what's coming next, as she sees their faces get closer.

It's almost like the crowd parts just so she can see two of her closest friends betray her. How could they do this to her? Furious and upset, she storms out of the living area where the party was being held and into the nearest room she could find, just as Maya and Lucas' lips interlocked.

Her vision went blurry as she stumbles into what she recognizes as Farkle's room and collapses onto his bed, pushing logic to the back of her mind. It feels like she's crying for hours, but it must only be a few minutes before she hears the door open.

"I looked for you everywhere out there. What happened?"

She turns towards Farkle soundlessly, and her face says it all. Drinks forgotten, he rushes to the bed to wrap an arm around her shoulder.

Almost immediately, Riley folds into him and lets her emotions loose. She nuzzles her head further into his chest and she starts to violently shake. Farkle brings his hand to her upper back, rubbing comforting circles into her skin. His other hand runs through her hair softly, in an attempt to calm her down.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay," Farkle whispers, "Whatever's happening, we can get through it together. We've always been able to, ever since the first grade."

He notices her shaking seems to slow down. He asks, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

She sniffles, "I don't think I'm ready." Her voice wavers. "Can we just be here, now?"

"Of course. I have just the thing for you," he lays down on the bed, pats the spot next to him, and she reluctantly follows.

She gasps when she sees the universe spread across the ceiling. "Woah."

"Amazing, isn't it? I know you love the stars. I find when I'm upset, when my parents are arguing, I just look up at the stars and focus on the constellations. It makes you feel like you're somewhere else."

Riley nods, silently, but finds herself subconsciously moving closer to him, until their shoulders are pressed against each other. The silence is comforting, lulling her to sleep. The last constellation she remembers are the two lovers together in the stars, Perseus and Andromeda, before her world fades to black.


	4. Shifting Axis

The doorbell rings and Riley rushes to answer it, knowing who it is.

"Long time no see," Farkle smirks.

"Yeah right, yesterday was so long ago" Riley jokes.

Topanga looks over, "Oh good, just in time. I just finished making dinner"

Cory suddenly runs into the kitchen, hearing the conversation. "DID SOMEONE SAY FOOD?"

Auggie skips in behind him and sits down. "IM READY IM READY IM READY!"

Topanga laughs. "You're definitely your father's boy."

Riley looks back at Farkle, shakes her head, and laughs before pulling his arm and dragging him to the table.

They eat for a couple of minutes, making mindless smalltalk about school, before the conversation shifts.

Riley looks around the table realizing how much she missed being with everyone she loves, "I feel like it's been forever since we've all eaten together like this."

"It has been awhile," Topanga replies.

"Yeah, Riley, do you even live here anymore?" Cory quirks an eyebrow. "You've been at the Minkus' nearly every night this week. The most I see you is in class."

Riley shrugs.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to start charging her rent," he nudges her playfully.

Riley smiles at him.

Topanga cocks her head and adds, "Speaking of, how are your parents Farkle?"

Farkle stiffens and puts his fork down before answering. Riley gives him a concerned glance, knowing that his parents have been arguing more than usual.

She's been afraid to talk to him about it so far, but she's noticed his parents are never home at the same time and rarely interact in front of her.

"Um-," Farkle stutters, coughing.

Farkle wipes his hands nervously on his jeans and Riley places her hand over his for support under the table.

Farkle starts again, "I actually don't really know. I haven't been able to see them much recently. They're just busy with work and stuff."

"Oh okay, tell them Cory and I said we should catch up sometime," Topanga says.

"Will do," Farkle nods, his posture relaxing.

"Oh, I remember you guys mentioned that party your parents were having. How did it go? I'm surprised Minkus was able to stop working to have a little fun."

Riley deflates, remembering the events she tried so hard to forget this past week. Avoiding Maya and Lucas at school and the subject altogether made it easy to forget what she saw that day, but now all she could do was remember. She felt like total and utter shit.

And Farkle noticed.

He quickly answered before her parents could push even further. "It was the same old. Dancing, talking, doing what teenagers do. Anyways, Auggie, how's Ava doing?"

Riley realizes as he's speaking that she never let go of his hand and squeezes his it out of gratefulness for changing the subject.

She stays quiet the rest of dinner, but could feel Farkle's gaze from the corner of her eye. She didn't look back at him but never let go of his hand.

—-

"It was nice seeing your parents again. I really missed Auggie," Farkle comments, lying on her bed a while after they washed the dishes.

Riley smiles but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Farkle sits up abruptly and turns to face her, looking her in the eyes intently. "Riles, did you really think I wouldn't notice that you're upset. Please talk to me."

Just as Riley's about to answer, her phone goes off. She closes her eyes, praying it isn't Maya, but it's too late. Farkle's already seen her name flash across her phone screen.

Farkle grips her shoulder. "Riley, how long are you gonna avoid Maya? You guys have been best friends for as long as I've known you. Would you really give up your friendship over this one thing?"

Riley sighs deeply. "Farkle, you don't understand."

"I think I do." Letting his arm fall off her shoulder.

"It was betrayal!"

"It was just miscommunication," he tells her.

"Was it? Because there was no communication. Maya could've talked to me. Lucas could've talked to me. But they didn't even try," Riley throws her arms up, exasperated.

Riley starts to feel her heart race and her eyes prickle with tears.

"You know Maya. Would she really do this to purposely hurt you? You're only hurting yourself by not talking to them about it."

Riley turns away from Farkle and looks out her window instead. "Farkle, I thought you were on my side."

He sees her shoulders shake and watches her wipe away tears on her cheeks. It kills him to see her like this.

He scoots closer to her. "I'm always on your side."

She twists her body to face him and he hesitantly wipes away some of her stray tears.

"Look," he continues, "I'm here for you whether you're ready to talk to them or not. I just want things to be okay between you guys. I'm sorry it seemed like I was against you. I want to help you. Anything you need."

Riley took a deep breath. "I just want to be here with you right now," she whispers. "I don't want to think about what happened with the others, at least not tonight."

"Okay, so...Star Wars?" He asks, a smile playing on his face.

That smile spreads to Riley's face. She nudges him, "You know me well."

"As long as it's Empire Strikes Back, I'm in," he replies, pulling her laptop off her nightstand.

Farkle and Riley settle into their normal movie positions, with her head resting on his chest.

—-

Halfway through the movie, Riley stops playing with his hands and sits up to look at him in the eyes.

As soon as she drops his hand, he asks, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she looks down and then back up, "I'm just grateful to have someone like you. And I wanted to thank you for this week. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there for me."

"Come here," he wraps his arms around her tightly.

She settles into the hug and sighs in his embrace, tucking her face into his neck. He holds her close for a few moments before sitting back to watch the rest of the movie.

Riley rests her head back on his chest and quickly glances up at him. He looks so focused on the movie and some part of her finds it strangely endearing.

As her eyes flick back over to the screen, she wishes she could stay in this moment forever, with him.


	5. Black Hole

As Riley and Farkle enter Topanga's, Riley's hand brushes lightly against Farkle's. Just as she notices how close they were, they see Maya and Lucas sitting at their usual table at the center.

Riley's eyes fall to the floor, "Farkle, they're right there, what do I do?"

Farkle looks down at her. They share a look and Riley can see his answer in his eyes. Before she even really has a chance to think, she feels a tug on her arm and is being pulled outside of Topanga's.

"Riley, we need to talk," Maya says once they're face to face.

Riley just stares back at her, crossing her arms.

"I know I've been a shitty friend, but it all happened so fast. I wanted to tell you, but you know how it is. Everything that happened between you guys and us…"  
"That's it? Is that all you have to say? Maya, you know how much that hurt me. You guys are two of my best friends. I mean, how could you do this me?" Riley throws her hands up in exasperation.

Maya grabs her hand. "Trust me, if I could change how I feel, I would. I hate that I'm the reason you're upset."

Riley yanks her hand back. "Well, just saying sorry isn't gonna fix it this time, Maya. Not anymore."

Riley pushes past Maya's shoulder on the way back inside, spots Farkle, and walks angrily up to him.

"Riles, what hap-,"

Before Farkle can even finish, he's pulled out the door and onto the street by Riley.

"What's going on? What happened?" He presses her with concern apparent in his eyes, as soon as they're out of earshot.

Riley won't answer, so before they are able to cross the street to the next block, Farkle stops her with his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened. You know you can tell me anything. It's no use keeping it all inside."

She takes a shaky breath. "Everything's fine. I just don't know how to fix this mess. I thought I could talk about my feelings with her, but it just hurts too much. I don't know how to handle it, how do you handle it?"

Farkle slowly shakes his head. "Not like this. You're way too worked up. How about we just do something to let out your pent up frustration."

He takes both of her hands in his and starts walking backwards, pulling her with him. A small smile crosses his face and she feels something warm inside.

He says, "We can't let this day go to waste. Besides, I'm Farkle. I've got a PhD in Riley."  
She snorts. "Oh Farkle, what am I gonna do with you?"  
He smirks. "What are you gonna do without me?"

At Farkle's penthouse later that evening, Riley and Farkle just finished their latest round of Zombie Destroyers. They'd been playing it for four successive hours. Riley never realized she could have so much fun doing nothing.

"Bet you never thought I would be this good at this game huh Farkley?" Riley raises an eyebrow.

"Riley, you lost every time" Farkle deadpans, although a chuckle slips past his lips.

"Yeah but look at how many kills I got! I'm amazing!"

"I don't know about your kills but I can attest to the amazing part."

She flashes him a genuine smile and shifts closer to him on his bed. "You're the one that's amazing," she says as she pokes him in the chest hard enough to push him backwards.

He shoves her shoulder back playfully, "Ha, sure…"

Riley pushes back even harder, making him fall back on his bed laughing. "I'm serious Farkle."

"No, I am," he grins mischievously. All of a sudden, he jumps up and grabs her waist, flipping her back on the bed and positions him above her. \

**Note from the authors: it's not that kind of story, sorry if that's what u were here for. pedos***

"Farkle! What are you doing!?" Riley exclaims.

Those are his last words before he attacks here, tickling her sides and neck-the areas he knows she's ticklish. Riley starts gasping for air from laughing so hard. Between giggles Riley manages to get out, "Farkle...stop...please...I'm begging you…"

And then, he just stops, leaving their faces only inches away. His arms are on either sides of her head, his body still towering over hers. He looks down at her and Riley for once can't read him. He has this look in his eyes that she's never seen before.

The only thing Farkle can think of is how he has never seen anything more beautiful.

They're breathing hard as they revel in this comforting silence that has enveloped them. It dawns on Riley that she enjoys being this close to Farkle. She's so close, she can see exactly what color his eyes are and begins to make out constellations connecting his freckles.

Without even being aware of it, Riley's hand instinctively reaches out to trace his freckles across his face. She feels her face begin to heat up. Just as she's about to cup his cheek, she's pulled back to reality. She lowers her hand to her side and coughs to clear her throat. "Could I, um, could I get some water, Farkle?"

Farkle has to shake his head to wake up from the world where it's just Riley and him. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure."

The second he crawls off the bed and out the door, Riley lets herself relax. She sits up, rubbing her temple anxiously. She likes spending time with Farkle, she's come to realize from all their time together, but could she like him like that? Does she?

The only thing she knew for sure is that she'd rather be with Farkle than her own thoughts because she was scared of where they were going. Pushing off his bed, she walks into the living room to see him on his way back with a glass of water in hand, and plants herself on his living room couch.

"Here you go," he hands her the water.

"Thanks," she replies shakily, realizing her voice sounds weird. She clears her throat.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, great," she replies, her voice sounding even more high-pitched than before. She takes a few sips of her water and shivers, suddenly colder without his warmth next to her.

"Wait, are you cold?" he asks.

"A little, but I'm good."

Farkle leaves for a moment. Before Riley can even wonder where he went, she gets a space sweatshirt thrown at her head. She takes it off her head to examine it. "Hey, this is my favorite of your sweatshirts."

"Yeah, mine too," he shrugs. "It's no big deal, just take it."

"Thanks, Farkle," she pulls the sweatshirt over her head and notices that it smells like him. She wishes she didn't.

"So, dinner?"

Riley smiles.

An hour later, his bed is covered in takeout containers and fortune cookie wrappers.

Riley makes a series of unrecognizable noises, noodles hanging out of her mouth.

"Riles, I did not understand one word of what you just said," Farkle remarks, laughing at her.

"I said," she swallows the last of the food in her mouth. "I've been thinking," shoving more lo-mein into her mouth.

"About…?"

Riley swallows again. "Maya. Lucas. Them kissing."

Farkle lifts his eyebrows in surprise.

"I don't like how I handled talking to Maya today. It's been bothering me. I mean I wish they told me, but if it was meant to happen it was meant to happen. How can I not be happy for my best friend? How could I have been so selfish?" She pouts.

He places his hand over hers. "You weren't. You reacted like anyone would. You can't hide your feelings."

"You're right. I'm gonna go talk to her tonight," Riley decides.

They finish up eating and joking around. Finally, it comes time for Riley to face Maya and leave the safety of Farkle's room.

"This was fun." Riley remarks.

"Good luck with Maya. Just say what you feel. You guys will work it out, you always do." Farkle answers.

"Thanks Farkle."

"Tomorrow?" he asks.

"Tomorrow."

She gives him one last grin before walking out of his penthouse and heading to Maya's.

Riley reaches Maya's door and knocks on it three times before it flies open.

"Riley?"

"Maya, we can't go on like this." Maya steps aside so Riley can come in and they walk to her room.

"Yeah, I know honey. That's what I was trying to say earlier."

They both sit down on Maya's bed. It's silent between them and Riley wishes more than anything that this would be over. And that's exactly what she says.

Maya looks at her in surprise. "Me too. I love you and I'm sorry, Huckleberry and I barely

know what's going on ourselves."

"I just wanna say, I thought I acted selfish earlier. But I do wish you told me. It hurt me a lot that I had to find out the way I did. We tell each other everything."

"I didn't know he felt the same way as I did, not until that night. I thought telling you before anything even happened would just make the whole situation worse. And look, it happened anyway. I suck, I know."

"You don't," Riley disputes, "I know it hurts for me right now and things feel weird, but we'll get over this eventually. I just need time."

"I'm glad we're talking again," Maya replies.

"Me too, Peaches."  
A smile spreads across both of their faces. A weight feels like it's been lifted off both their shoulders.

"C'mere," Maya hugs her tight and Riley smiles. "Let's never keep anything from each other again."  
"Promise?"  
"Promise," Maya nods, interlocking their pinkies.

Maya really looks at Riley for the first time since she's been here, and narrows her eyes. "Wait a second. Is that...Minkus' sweatshirt?"  
Riley's eyes automatically go wide. She looks down and realizes she's still wearing it. She laughs nervously. "What? Yeah...I just got cold. I was at his house earlier."

"That's his favorite one," Maya comments.

"I know, mine too," Riley shrugs.

Maya knits her eyebrows together. "You know he wouldn't do that for just anyone."

"Yeah…" Riley trails off, "But I guess it's because we're both his girls."  
Maya raises an eyebrow. "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"I'm serious!" she pushes Maya lightly.

"Okay, okay," Maya rolls her eyes, "Hey, walk to school together tomorrow?"  
"Sounds perfect."

Riley settles in, talking to Maya about the last week, but a thought pushes at the back of her mind. Why did Farkle give her his sweatshirt anyway? And why did she like it so much?


	6. Too Close to the Sun

"And that's how the War of 1812 ended."

"You just talked about how to make friends, Matthews," Maya interjects.

Cory gives her a pointed look, then moves on. "Now, I hope everyone has bought their tickets for the Junior Dance next week," he says, looking around the classroom. "It's gonna be fun! I would know, I've chaperoned for the past 3 years…"

Riley rolls her eyes and without looking, she can tell Maya does too. They've both heard this story multiple times.

Everyone turns to the person next to them and starts whispering about the dance. Riley

turns to talk to Farkle, but finds him scribbling in his notebook uninterested.  
"What is the theme for that anyways?" Zay speaks up. "I still don't know."

"It's Out of this World," Riley and Lucas say at the same time. They share an awkward glance and Riley remembers that she still hasn't talked to him. She feels she needs to clear the air between them, but not right this second. She files it away for later.

Riley twists around to try and talk to Farkle again, but she finds he is already looking at her with a confused look on his face. They just look at each other for a moment before he returns to his notes. She turns back to face the front with a confused face of her own. _What was that about?_

Just as Riley's thoughts start to spiral, Cory interrupts.

"Class dismissed!"

Riley waits outside the classroom for Farkle, but when he exits he acts like he doesn't even see her. He was fine the day before and Riley wonders what could've changed. She's about to follow after him when she feels someone grab her arm.

"Hey Riles, wanna get smoothies and make fun of pedestrians?" Maya suggests with a smile.

Riley grins back. "Sure, Maya."

"Catch you later, Matthews," Maya salutes to Cory and links her arms with Riley as they walk out of school.

Later that night, Riley is up thinking. Her thumb has been hovering over Farkle's contact for the last thirty minutes. Should she text him? Something was wrong with him today. What would she even say?

She decides to say screw it, he is too important to her to delay any longer. Besides, she can't actually remember the last time things felt this tense between them. Lately, everything has been going better than she could've ever imagined.

**Riley: **Heyyy what are you doing right now?

**Farkle: **Studying. Homework. Why?

**Riley: **Oh! Was just bored…

**Riley: **I noticed u were kinda off today. Are u okay?

**Farkle: **Everything's going fine. I just have a lot on my plate.

**Riley: **Anything I can help with?

**Farkle: **Not really.

**Riley: **Well, remember how my dad mentioned the dance today?

**Farkle: **Yeah.

**Riley: **Are you planning on going we haven't talked about it

**Farkle: **I haven't really thought about it. Finals are in less than a month.

**Riley: **Omg please go I know it'll be fun

**Farkle: **Yeah, but I don't know. I could be studying.

**Riley: **Pleeeeeeeeeaaaassseeeee

**Riley: **Prettyyyy pleeeeaaassseeee

**Farkle: **I guess it wouldn't be so bad. What's one night, right?

**Riley: **Right

**Riley: **Soooooo, you'll go?

**Farkle: **I guess.

**Riley: **Okay! Yay :)

**Read 2:21 am. **

Even through text, she can tell something is different between them. She's just glad he even agreed to come to the dance. She wonders how this week will play out for them.

It's the day of the dance, and Farkle has yet to say a word to Riley other than "can you pass that paper back," "when's that assignment due?" or "do you have the data from that lab we did last Thursday?"

It's been a rough seven days. She finally understands how much she's grown close to Farkle over the last month. Ever since Maya and Lucas started spending more time together, Farkle's been her go-to.

Now that her and Maya have made up, things seem better, but it isn't the same without Farkle by her side. She misses his smirk, his science puns, and the way he makes everything better just by being there. She misses him.

Right now, Riley is with Maya putting on their dresses for the dance. Maya has on a silver body-con dress, with her hair straight and down. Riley, on the other hand, went for a light blue dress with a v-neckline and a flowy bottom. She has her hair up in a braided bun with strands framing her face. Topanga did their makeup, and both of them wore heels they knew would be uncomfortable by the end of the night.

They both wait in Riley's room, talking, until the rest of their friends show up.

"The boys are here!" Topanga eventually calls.

"All of them?" Riley asks.

"If by all of them you mean Zay, Lucas, Farkle, Cory, and Auggie, then yes! All of them!" Topanga says.

Riley smiles. "Let's go, Peaches."

Maya links her arm in Riley's and they walk out to the living room. They stroll over to the boys and for Lucas and Farkle, time stops.

"Wow, Maya," Lucas chuckles, tipping his cowboy hat. "You look...good."

"Ha-hurr," Maya lets go of Riley and gets in Lucas' face. "Are you saying I normally don't look good?"

Lucas stutters, "Well, I-uh…"

"Relax, Ranger Rick. I'm just playing," Maya hugs him from the side.

Farkle looks at Riley and can't help but smile. "Wow, Riles. You look really nice."

She feels a genuine grin cross her face for the first time in a week. "So do you, Farkle."

"You guys both look amazing," Zay smiles.

"Thanks Zay, you too," Riley says. "We should head out before my dad starts lecturing us. We'll see him at the dance anyway."  
They start to exit the living room, when Riley feels herself stumble. Farkle instinctively lifts his hands to her waist to steady her.

"Stupid heels..." she mutters. Farkle chuckles and shakes his head.

They arrive at the dance and so far, everything's going great with Farkle. Everyone is sitting at their assigned table, and Riley wonders what made him isolate himself from her. She decides not to question it so much because everything finally feels okay again. It finally feels like she can breathe.

A throwback song starts playing and everyone decides to dance as a group. They dance to a couple of songs before a slower one comes on. A guy takes Zay by the hand and he's whisked off to go dance. Maya immediately grabs Lucas' hand and pulls him to the middle of the floor. That leaves Riley and Farkle staring at each other wordlessly.

"Wanna dance?" Farkle shrugs, holding out his hand.

"I'd love to," Riley replies, fitting her hand into his.

His other hand rests on her hip and hers on his shoulder as they sway. They move closer and Riley slowly rests her head on his chest. She closes her eyes. He puts his chin atop her head.

Riley whispers, "This is nice."

Farkle nods, "Yeah. It is."

They enjoy the comfortable silence that settles between them for the rest of the song. Another slow one follows, and Riley chooses now as the best time to say something.

She lifts her head off his chest to look into his eyes. "Farkle, I know things have been weird between us this week."

"Yeah... sorry about that," he can't quite meet her gaze.

"About what, exactly? I can't figure out what went wrong or what's happening with you, and I wish I knew," Riley mutters.

"I wish I knew, too."

"But that's just it, you do know. Why else would you be avoiding everyone, especially me? Did I do something?"

"No, of course not. It's just I-I don't...want to talk about it."

Riley loosens her hold on him. "But it's me, Farkle. It's me! What can't you tell me? Why can't that be enough?"

"Because...I just can't."

"Can't what? Can't tell me things, like friends should? Can't tell me the truth?"

"No...I-," He cuts off.

She drops her arms to her side and frowns at him. "I thought we were best friends. I trusted you with all this stuff about Maya and Lucas and now it just feels like it meant nothing to you. Friendship is a two-way street. And it hasn't been feeling like that. And that's not okay."

She slowly backs away from him, shaking her head.

"Riley, wait!"

She quickly exits the room, his voice fading into the music. She can't bear to be in there for any longer.

This whole week, all she wanted was to talk to him and now she can't even stand the thought of seeing him.


	7. Space Between Us

Riley's week has been a piece of shit. Farkle wasn't talking to her and she was mad at him anyways. Things with Maya were better, but she was always going off with Lucas, and Riley has yet to talk to him. She decides there was no better time than the present. The second she gets home from school, she jumps on her bed and pulls out her texts with Lucas.

**Riley: **Hey! Are you doing something rn?

**Lucas: **Nm, just tryna get through some geometry hw . Wbu?

**Riley: **Just wanted to talk! I feel like we haven't been talking. I feel like we need to.

**Lucas: **Me too. It's been a while since Farkle's party...where ya know…

**Riley: **Bay window in an hour?

**Lucas: **I'll be there :)

**Riley: **:))

**Read 3:34 pm. **

An hour has passed and Riley's getting nervous to talk to Lucas. It's crazy what time can change. She used to be really nervous around him, but the good kind of nervous. Even when she had a crush on him back in middle school, talking to him came easy to her, but now-less than a month since the incident-she's clamming up.

She hears two knocks against her window pane. Lucas.

"Hey," he says as he slides inside and sits on her bay window.

"Lucas," Riley offers a smile.

"Riley, what's going on between us?"

Riley slowly gets off her bed and makes her way to the window to sit by him. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I just wanted to talk about a few things. Hear me out, okay? I guess I started noticing you and Maya getting closer but I never put it together until Farkle's party. I-,"  
"Riley, I'm-I don't even know what to say. I know we should've been honest with you from the beginning, but-," he says, unable to make eye contact.

"I'm not mad, but we're friends. We don't lie to each other, Lucas. And I'm not gonna lie to you, it really hurt me. Thank god for Farkle because losing my other two best friends has not been easy. Why didn't you guys tell me?"

"It just happened! I'm sorry, Riley. Everything with our past is so complicated and I didn't want to make you, or Farkle, uncomfortable. I guess I was just confused with Maya and scared of losing you as a friend that saying anything would be premature"

"But we're friends before everything else. I haven't thought about you like that since middle school, and Maya is my best friend in the whole world. I just figured I'd be the first to find out," Riley frowns.

"I'm really sorry. I wish I could go back and tell you before anything happened, but I can't. Just know I'll always be sorry, and I care about our friendship a lot."

"I want to say that it's fine and okay, but it simply wasn't. But I've been thinking about it and I do understand where you guys were coming from. I'm sorry if I overreacted but you're both so important to me. For the future though, let's tell the truth like we always have."

"Okay," Lucas nods. "Okay, you're right."

Riley reaches over and pulls him into a hug, finally feeling like everything's going back to normal. She tucks her chin over his shoulder and closes her eyes. She's glad to have her friend back.

As she releases him from the hug, she hears clattering outside her window. Her eyes snap outside, but finds nothing. Lucas searches the fire escape for a trace of someone but can't see anything.

"Probably a stray cat," he shrugs.

"Or a sheep," Riley nudges him with a laugh.

"When will you drop it," he laughs, "I rode a sheep one time! This joke will never end."

Riley laughs as he launches into another story about his rodeo adventures in Texas, and forgets why she was even angry in the first place. What could she do without him?

Riley spots Farkle at his locker the next day, scrolling on his phone and looking generally uninterested in his surroundings. He's wearing that NASA tee and dark washed skinny jeans. Riley had never noticed before, but he always kind of looked effortlessly good.

It hits her how miserable she's been without him. It's been a full week, and she seriously doesn't know how much longer she can go without talking to him. She misses his random texts about the science news and watching him rant about things she's never even heard of. She misses his company that lifted her mood when Maya and Lucas both weren't there for her. She misses the way he listened to her every word, no matter how random. She misses everything about him. She never knew she could miss someone this much.

Seeing him in the same hallway she has for years and not being able to walk up to him like she used to hurt her more than she could handle. Something needed to change, and she wasn't about to sit by and let their friendship fall to nothing.

She makes the impulsive decision to walk up to him and do something about it.

"Farkle," she says, marching right up to his face.

He lifts his chin and is taken aback, seeing her standing right in front of him. An emotion that looks a lot like anger crosses his face, but it's gone before she can even process what it means. Suddenly he shuts down, and his face falls to indifference.

"Hey, Riley," he mutters.

"Why aren't we talking?" she blurts out, leaning closer.

He backs into his locker. "We're talking right now."

She gives him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Not really."

"Can you just come over later? Please?"

"I'll think about it," he says, "I'm kind of busy. Finals coming up."

"Please, please think about it. I want to see you. And not just in the classroom."

"Okay, Riley, I'll think about it," he looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Riley nods. "Great! Okay, then! See you later. Maybe. Hopefully."

He presses his lips together, and brushes past her, leaving her standing there confused but somewhat optimistic. She'll just have to wait and see. They'll work it out, she thinks. They always do.

She tries to do her homework after school, but the anticipation overwhelms her. Talking to Farkle is all she can think about. She texted him to come over around 5, but she curses herself for not making it immediately after school. She can't function.

When 5 rolls around, she's just laying on her bed, playing with loose threads on Farkle's space sweatshirt. She had put it on earlier, before doing her homework, because she missed him so much and felt like it brought her comfort, somehow. She prays silently that he's actually planning on showing up. He didn't even reply to her message.

About fifteen minutes pass, and she hears her window open. Her eyes widen and shift to the bay window, where she finds Farkle sitting there, looking distressed. His eyes dart around the room but never make it to her face.

"I didn't think you'd come," Riley says.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would either."

"So, what made you change your mind?" She asks.

He shrugs. "You're wearing my sweatshirt."

"Thought you wouldn't care," she replies. He looks away. "Anyway...I want to clear things up between us. I wanna know what happened at the dance, and why you were mad in the first place."

"You know what happened at the dance," he mumbles. "You're the one who pressed me when you know I didn't wanna talk about it."

"But I just wanted to know the truth! And if you're gonna talk to anyone, it should be me. I'm your best friend, Farkle. If you're such a genius, shouldn't you know that we've been spending way more time together than you with Maya or anyone else? Why couldn't you tell me?"

"But I haven't even told _anyone_! If I was ready to, you would be the first person I would talk to. But I just wasn't ready! Can't you understand that?!" he puts his head in his hands.

It's silent for a moment before Riley speaks up.

"I...I know. I messed up," Riley sighs. "I realize I was out of place and I should've been way more understanding. I guess I just wanted to know what was going on with you. You felt distant."

"I don't even know what's going on with me. Things are...really complicated and if I could explain, I would, okay, but-,"

Riley interrupts, "I've missed spending time with you Farkle, I feel closer to you than anyone else…"

"Really? Because I saw you two," Farkle deadpans.

"What? Who?" Riley leans in with a baffled expression.

"The guy you've liked ever since you first met him. I mean, I could never compete with that even as a friend. I saw you two together and you guys seemed closer than friends."

It dawns on her that he must be talking about Lucas.

"What are you even talking about? Do you mean Lucas?"

"Of course I mean Lucas! Who else? It always comes back to Lucas. Always. Even when he's with Maya. I'm glad we've gotten closer, Riley, I am, but it took this whole thing with Maya and Lucas just to push us together. Would we even be this close if it wasn't for the distance you put between you and them? This whole mess, on top of finals, and on top of everything at home…," he gets up and starts pacing around her room.

"What do you mean everything at home? Farkle...what's going on?"

"Nothing! I-I don't know," he exclaims, "I honestly have no fucking clue because they don't tell me anything! I just-" he starts to breathe harder, "I just don't know what to do anymore…"

She can see tears building up in his eyes. She gets up and walks over to him, but he backs away.

"Farkle calm down," she whispers.

"NO! I come here all the time and see your parents and everything is so good and then I go home, and everything turns to shit! And lately, it's been so bad I can't even focus because it's so loud and I'm gonna fail all my finals and I'm not ready and how am I gonna stay top of the class now? And-,"

At this point, his words start to become unrecognizable and he chokes on a sob. Riley envelopes him in her arms at once, letting him shake against her. He feels tense in her hold, but he allows her to lead him to her bed.

They sit down, and he lets himself sink into her embrace. She rubs circles into his back with one hand, and cradles his head in her other one. She whispers comforting things into his neck.

"It's gonna be okay, I'm here, I'm here."

It's quiet, except for the sound of his sobs. After a few moments, the shaking slows. He lifts his head back to look at her and sees her eyes are glassy.

"Riley," he croaks. "I heard them call the lawyer last night. I think they might be getting a divorce."

Her face falls and her posture sinks. "Oh my gosh Farkley. I can't believe this. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this alone. I'm so sorry."

He looks away and mumbles something. "This is the first time in my life where I have no idea of what to do."

She brings her hand up to his face to tilt his chin to face her. "I'm here for you."

"I know," he scans her face, his expression softening. "I know," he whispers.

She hugs him again, and he melts into the touch.

"You can get through this. And I'm always gonna be here for you. I promise."

"What am I gonna do?" Farkle asks.

Riley sighs. "I really don't know. You can stay here as much as you want. We can talk whenever you want. You'll make it through this, Farkle. You've always got me."

Farkle just hugs her tighter, never wanting to let go. She's his anchor to reality. They stay like that for a while, in each others arms.

"I can always take your finals for you," Riley remarks.

He chuckles and leans out of their embrace, and Riley takes pride in the fact that she could make him laugh. "Well, I don't know, I can't let my grades slip like that," he teases.

She shoves him playfully. "Rude, Farkle." She puts a fake pout on, and he just looks at her, thankful. For her.


	8. Force of Attraction

**Farkle**: Here

**Riley**: cominggg

**Riley**: you got the blanket?

**Farkle**: Yup. Got the food?

**Riley**: how could i forget? ;)

Riley quickly throws on her jean jacket and grabs her backpack filled with sandwiches, snacks, and waters for two. Right before she closes the door behind her, she yells out, "See ya mom! I'll be back for dinner!"

Riley steps outside her apartment complex and sees Farkle, checkered blanket in hand. "Ready?" she asks as a smile flits across her face.

"With you? Of course," Farkle bumps her shoulder with his.

They walk several blocks to Central Park, setting down their blanket on an open field. Riley drops her backpack onto the grass and begins taking out the sandwiches.

She notices Farkle's gaze lingering on her face. "What?" she asks, "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Farkle smiles widely, shaking his head.

"Oh," Riley's face turns red. Riley silently curses her ability to blush so easily. She turns away from Farkle to finish unpacking the food.

Farkle picks up a sandwich and bites into it. "Wow, Gordon Ramsey. You're a world class chef, Matthews."

She giggles. "It's literally just peanut butter and jelly. It's pretty hard to mess up."

"I beg to differ. The balance needs to be just right, and you've got it down. I can't believe we haven't done this before," Farkle says in between bites.

"Yeah, me neither," Riley agrees, and sits back on the picnic blanket, finally relaxed.

After they finish their meal, they both decide to cloudwatch. They lie back on the blanket, their bodies facing opposite directions while their heads lay next to each other.

Riley points to the cumulus above them, "That looks like a unicorn with a party hat."

"I think it looks like a blob," Farkle deadpans.

Riley shoves him lightly. "Come on, Farkley, that can't be what you really see."

All that meets her is silence. They sit like that for a few moments.

Just as Riley is about to say something, Farkle pipes up, "I actually think it looks like a girl. A girl who's way smarter than she gives herself credit for, and a girl who makes killer PB&J."

Riley props her upper body up on her elbow to look at him. But he isn't finished.

He continues, "She's the epitome of sunshine and she's known by all her friends as the most caring, loving person they know."

Farkle mirrors her stance to look back at her.

"Do you really think all that?" Riley mumbles. "I don't think half of it is true."

"But it is," Farkle smiles.

Riley grins broadly. "I didn't know you thought that about me."  
"Oh, I was talking about Maya," Farkle smirks.

Riley gasps and pushes at his shoulder, knocking him flat on the blanket. Farkle retaliates by tickling her sides, sending her into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Stop...Farkle…" is all Riley manages to get out between tickle attacks.

Finally, he stops out of exhaustion and Riley realizes with a start that she's hovering on top of him. Farkle and Riley's giggles slowly fade away as they look at each other. Riley's eyes dart across his face as if she's looking for something but she can't find it. Farkle can't seem to pull his focus away from her.

Just as Riley places her hands on his chest to push off of him, they hear a familiar voice say "Riles? Minkus?"

Farkle winces at Maya's voice as Riley flings herself off of him and scoots towards the other end of the blanket. She finally brings herself to look up to see Maya and Lucas, hand in hand.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lucas asks, confused.

"What? Just having a picnic in the park, two friends, eating, talking, picnic-ing. You know," Riley laughs nervously. She isn't sure why.

"Um, so, are we going to address what we just saw here? Because it needs to be addressed," Maya says.

Farkle shakes his head and shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just started to tickle her and that's all you were seeing."

"Was it? You sure about that, Farkle?" Lucas raises his eyebrows at Farkle like he knows something Riley doesn't.

"Yes, that's all. Nothing more going on here," Riley answers, nodding vigorously.

She sees Farkle's face fall. He visibly deflates. He mumbles to himself, "Yeah, nothing going on. As always," although Riley catches it and throws him a confused look.

Maya and Lucas look back and forth between Farkle and Riley as though they are piecing together a puzzle.

"What are _you _guys doing?" Riley asks, in an attempt to shift the conversation.

"Just on a date!" Lucas smiles awkwardly, lifting their interlocked fingers.

Riley realizes that she didn't internally cringe like she used to at the thought of them together.

Maya taps her chin. "Yeah, there's a lot of couples out on dates in Central Park today, huh Huckleberry?"  
Farkle and Riley's faces heat up instantly.

"Yeah, and friendly picnics going on," Riley sheepishly adds.

"Right," Maya says as she starts to pull Lucas away from the blanket. "We're off. You two lovebirds, I mean, platonic birds, have fun."

"Really? You could've tried harder with that one," Lucas tells Maya.

"Yeah, yeah I know. It's all I got right now, okay cowboy? I didn't expect to see Riley and Farkle on a date today," she mutters as they walk away.

Riley barely catches what they say because she's too busy trying to calm her thoughts down.

"That was...something," Riley mumbles.

Farkle nods, but doesn't quite meet her eyes. He continues to eat, awkwardly adding, "this sandwich, though."

The second they open Farkle's front door, something feels off.

"You always say you're going to support my scientific achievements, and you didn't come to the last conference where I presented. And now, you're not coming to the national science foundation banquet with me?"

"I told you, I have to finish up my research for the 25th anniversary of the company," Farkle vaguely registers his mom's voice yelling from their room upstairs.

"It's always something!" Farkle's dad shoots back.

Riley blushes from the awkward silence that follows. Farkle coughs to try and clear the air.

"Are you going to forget about me just like you've forgotten about Farkle!? You haven't bothered to really talk to him for weeks," Farkle's dad shouts.

"Oh and you think you're father of the year or something? You haven't even glanced at him in months. Where is your son right now? Do you even know?"

"Do you?" Farkle's dad answers.

Riley looks up at Farkle with glassy eyes. Farkle says nothing. Riley touches his upper arm, "I'm so sorry you're caught in the middle of this. I can go, if you want?"

She pulls her arm away but he reaches out to grab it. "No. Wait."

She looks back up at him, confused, but when she meets his gaze everything makes sense. He looks broken.

"You're insufferable. I'm calling the lawyer Monday," Farkle's mom screams.

Riley and Farkle hear the bedroom door slam loudly, leaving silence in its place.

Farkle studies his shoes. "Riles...is there any way I could come over for a bit tonight? Or, stay the night? I am not ready to face my parents after that. And I know they're just gonna use me against each other. I just-"

"Of course Farkle, I just want you to feel comfortable. I can't imagine it's easy being home with all of this happening. C'mon, my parents will definitely allow it. I might have to beg my dad a little though." Riley jokingly adds but it falls flat.

Farkle doesn't mind. "I'll grab my stuff," he whispers, the corner of his mouth tilting upwards.

They get into Riley's room, and Farkle drops his backpack on the ground. He sits down on her bed and visibly deflates. Riley leaves the room to ask her parents if Farkle can stay over.

She re-enters the bedroom and tells Farkle, "Okay I've got good news and bad news."

"Good news first," Farkle replies.

"Okay, so my parents said yes, but they want you sleeping on the couch."

"Darn. That really is bad news," Farkle forces a laugh. "I'm joking. Seriously, thank you so much."

"It's nothing, that's what friends are for," Riley smiles. Something about that sentence feels weird in her mouth.

He gives her a tight smile and nods.

Riley sits down, leaving a few inches between them. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Farkle sighs. "What about it?"

"How you're feeling? What's going through your head? Anything? Farkle, you can't just ignore this, you can't just keep it all inside," Riley urges.

"Yes, I can. I haven't run into any problems so far," Farkle shrugs.

"Farkle, you can't keep doing this forever! I need you to talk to me. I know it's hard but I also know that what you're doing to yourself is only going to hurt you in the future. You need to deal with this now. Talk to me, please."

"Fine. I don't know what to say...but I'll try. I feel like I'm drowning. My parents aren't my parents right now. Both of them use work as an excuse to avoid all the issues growing between them. They use work to ignore each other, and with that, me. I feel like I don't have parents right now. I feel alone. I hear them fighting and I just want to scream. But I can't. I can't break down for even a second because if they knew how much I was hurting it would break them. It would make them realize how shitty everything actually is, and then they might actually go get divorced. I want my family back."

Riley just listens to Farkle without interrupting. She'd never seen him open up to her like this. Or, anyone. She feels the bed shake slightly, and looks over to see him crying.

"I've never told anyone this before," he whispers, feeling her stand from her spot on the bed.

She kneels on the floor in front of him and says, "Farkle, look at me."

Farkle can't bring his eyes off his hands entangled in his lap.

"Farkle," Riley softly pleads, "look at me." She gently brings her hand to his chin and tilts it up slightly. Reluctantly, he meets her gaze.

"I can tell you're hurting, and if there was any way I could take away even a little bit of the pain you're experiencing I would do it in a second. But I can't. You're going to have to process this yourself in order to get past it, and I know you're strong enough, Farkle. You don't have to keep this all inside. Talk to your parents. They need to know how they're affecting you so they can be more self aware. Your feelings matter and deserve to be heard."

A tear slides down Farkle's cheek. "But how? How do I let my parents know they're breaking me without breaking them too?" Just as Farkle manages to get the question out, a sob breaks loose.  
Riley reaches up and wraps her arms around his shoulders, rubbing circles into his back. Farkle crumples into her arms. They stay like that for a while, until Riley breaks the silence by sighing and whispering into his ear, "I don't know. But I believe in you and I believe in time, and I know things will turn out the way they're supposed to. You just need time."

They hold each other until the pain in Farkle's chest dulls. It could've been hours when he pulls back slightly, but it feels like minutes. Farkle's face is less than an inch away from hers. Her arms are still clasped around his neck, while his arms encircle her. His eyes flick back and forth between her eyes, as if they hold the answers. As Riley gazes back up at him, things are starting to make sense to her. She liked wearing his sweatshirt that day. She likes spending time with him more than she ever did with Lucas. She misses him when he's not around. And she wants to hold him until all his problems disappear. All of a sudden she realizes she has slowly been subconsciously leaning forward and she only notices when her nose grazes his. He can't help himself when he tilts forward. Riley's eyelids flutter shut in anticipation. Their lips brush against each other, only for a second. Riley feels herself give in, expecting the feeling of his lips pressed against hers, but the warmth of his lips never comes.

He leans back, causing Riley's arms to fall to her sides, hanging limply on the bed, and her eyes to snap open. Farkle abruptly stands up, and coughs awkwardly before quickly mumbling, "Uhh, gotta go to the couch, I'm pretty tired." He can't even look at her.

Riley feels cold with his absence and surprisingly feels disappointed. Her face turns red from embarrassment and her stomach twists. Farkle is already almost out of her room when he stops in the doorway. Without turning around, he says, "Thanks, Riley. You always know the right thing to say."

Then, he's gone.

That night she has trouble falling asleep with thoughts of almosts and what ifs.


	9. For a Light-Year

"Last week of school before summer break! How we feelin'?" Cory exclaims, fist pumping the air.

Maya and Riley rolled their eyes at the same time:

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Matthews. I think we've all been ready for summer since the first day of the school year," Maya deadpans. A chorus of laughter disperses among the classroom.

"I second that," Lucas adds.

Riley uses the silence following her dad's attempt to relate with his students to lean over towards Maya and ask, "Hey Peaches, wanna watch that new romcom everyone is talking about after school today? You, me, and popcorn?" Riley beams at Maya with expectant eyes, knowing they have not hung out in a while, and Riley needs her Maya time.

Instead of answering her with any amount of enthusiasm, which honestly never happens, Maya stares straight ahead. Riley waits a moment and when no answer comes, she decides to speak up. But just as she opens her mouth, Cory launches into the next lesson. Riley sags in her seat, unable to pay attention because her best friend won't acknowledge her.

Farkle watches from the seat behind, wondering what the heck just happened between those two. Riley tells herself she'll talk to Maya after class and tries to pay attention to what her dad is saying.

The bell rings and class is dismissed. Riley notices that Maya tries to make a quick escape, but she catches her arm before she turns the corner to a different hallway.

"Hey, what was that back there?" Riley asks, her face scrunched up in confusion. Farkle and Lucas approach them with wary expressions. Maya just shrugs.

"Why are you ignoring me? What's going on?" Riley insists, trying to understand what's going on in Maya's head.

"What? You mean what you've been doing to me for the past week? No, Riley, I don't want to suddenly hang out with you now that _you_ feel you have time for me after you've been spending so much time with _him_," Maya yells as she gestures to Farkle.

Farkle recoils. Riley is speechless, she opens her mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Maya pivots and stomps off. Lucas turns to leave too, but hesitates. "You know, you guys are going to need to figure this out," Lucas remarks with sad eyes, "It's killing her."

He then walks away, trailing Maya.

Riley stares at the spot on the ground where Maya just stood, trying to process what just happened. Has she really been ignoring her this whole time? She knew they hadn't been spending that much time together, after all, the bay window was getting dusty. She must have been so caught up in being with Farkle and comforting him. She would never intentionally ditch her forever best friend.

Farkle sees her evaluating everything that just happened, and decides to let Riley figure this out on her own. He doesn't want to cause any more damage than he already has. He gently squeezes her shoulder and then walks away from her, concerned but confident she'll figure this out.

After standing by the lockers for a while, Riley comes up with a plan. And the plan starts at the annual end of the school year celebration that she'll have at her house on Friday.

* * *

Riley huffs hair out of her face as she reaches down to grab yet another crumpled up piece of paper from her locker, stuffing it into the large trash bag at her feet. She didn't realize just how cluttered her locker was until clean out day. Normally, Maya would help her with this, but she hasn't even spoken to her since their argument two days ago, on Monday.

She glances over her shoulder to see how Farkle was doing. He has one hand holding his locker open, and his body is angled towards her. His shoulders look broader than she remembers, and his hair looks soft enough to run her hands through it. As her eyes search for his, she realizes he is already looking at her longingly. They haven't had a moment alone since he slept over at her house, and she can't deny the fact that she yearns for another.

Unable to handle his stare any longer, Riley snaps her eyes away, and instead seeks out Maya, who is standing nearby cleaning out her own locker. Maya must feel her gaze, because she suddenly looks up at her with a challenging expression. Riley feels the need to say something, anything, but she can't bring herself to form a coherent sentence. All of a sudden, Maya purses her lips and slightly shakes her head once before returning her attention back to her locked.

Confused, Riley's face scrunches up. Why did she do that? She doesn't even have to utter a word anymore for Maya to get annoyed with her, she guesses. Stumped, Riley attempts to turn back to her own locker when she notices a figure directly in front of her. Tilting her head up, she sees Farkle, leaning against the adjacent lockers.

"Hey," he says, rather uncomfortably. "Haven't seen you in what feels like light years," Farkle adds humorously.

"Oh," Riley mutters, ignoring his attempt at humor. Farkle deflates, disappointed. "Sorry, Farkle. You know how it is. I've been busy."

"Busy when school lets out in two days? Why am I finding that hard to believe?" Farkle says, knowingly.

Riley sighs. "I don't know what to tell you. Now's just not a good time, Farkle. Okay?"

"Alright," Farkle says quietly.

Riley nods, slamming her locker shut, and starts to walk away from him. He realizes she meant to leave without him, and he calls out to her, "I guess I'll see you Friday!" as she rounds the corner.

Farkle wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans, feeling uneasy about where they stand. Is Riley ignoring him? Did he do something wrong?

* * *

"Riley! Get over here and help your mother with party prep!" Topanga yells from the kitchen.

Riley groans, sliding off her bed and dragging her feet across the floor all the way to the kitchen."Mooooom, summer break literally started an hour ago. Can't I relax for just five minutes?" Riley whines.

She picks up her phone to check her texts with Maya again, only to find her one-sided messages still unanswered. Instead, waiting for her on her lockscreen, are three new messages from Farkle.

**Farkle**: Hey, do you need me to bring anything to the party?

_**Read 2:50pm**_

**Farkle**: ?

_**Read: 3:30pm**_

**Farkle**: Riles, please answer me.

_**Read: **_**4**_**:04pm**_

Riley sighs heavily and slumps into her usual chair, pushing her phone away from her on the table.

Topanga frowns upon seeing her daughter's face. "Riley? What's going on?"

"Mom, am I the worst friend ever? Maya won't even talk to me and now I'm avoiding Farkle. And the worst part? I don't even know why..."

"Oh honey." Topanga moves to sit down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You and Maya are arguing? You two always find a way of working it out."

"I know, but what if we don't this time? What if she hates me?"

Topanga smiles reassuringly. "She doesn't. I promise. Why don't you talk to her when she comes over? She should already be here by now."

Riley nods solemnly. "Yeah. I will. Thanks, mom." Topanga pinches her chin endearingly and returns to preparing for the party.

Riley helps her mom take out some drinks, setting up the stacks of cups as they hear a knock at the door. She walks over to the door and opens it to find a handful of her classmates, along with Lucas and Maya, all of them chatting excitedly now that school is over.

"Welcome guys! There's food on the table for everyone," Riley exclaims, forcing more enthusiasm into her voice than she normally has to. She scans all of the faces, until she confirms that he's not here yet.

Everyone swarms over to the food, leaving Maya and Lucas in their wake. Lucas smiles awkwardly.

"Well, they look like they've been deprived of food for ages. Funny thing is, didn't we all just eat free pizza at school? Honestly, I'm kinda impressed."

Maya nods, not replying. Riley just narrows her eyes.

"Maya, come on."

Lucas clears his throat uncomfortably. "Well, it turns out I'm also starving. I'll be back." He joins their classmates in the kitchen.

"Bay window. Now." Riley asserts, tugging at Maya's sleeve.

Maya rolls her eyes, but doesn't protest, so Riley takes it as a good sign to drag her all the way to her room.

Once they sit down at the bay window, Riley inhales then exhales slowly, and blurts out, "I'm sorry for the last few weeks. I shouldn't have brushed you off like that. I didn't realize I was ignoring you, I promise!"

"Sorry? I guess that just fixes everything then. You didn't even realize you were ignoring me? I guess that makes me pretty forgettable, huh?"

"Maya, no," Riley stresses, "C'mon. You know you mean more to me than that. Than anyone. Can't I at least explain myself?"

Maya shrugs. "You can try."

"Well the truth is, I've been spending more time with Farkle because he's...going through something really hard." Riley twists strands of her hair around her fingers, a nervous habit of hers. "I don't know how much I can say because he should be the one telling you this. All I will say is that things are pretty rough with his parents right now, and I've been trying to get his mind off of it."

"Really?" Maya looks down at her lap. "I didn't know."

After a moment of them sitting in an overwhelming silence, Riley remarks, "How could you, Peaches?"

"You could've told me why you couldn't hang out as often. I get it and the last thing I want is for Farkle to be alone right now."

"I honestly thought that he would've told you. I mean, it's really not my place to tell. And I truly am sorry that I got so caught up with his situation that I neglected you all together. "

A smile flits across Maya's face as she takes Riley's hand. She squeezes it reassuringly. "Consider it water under the bridge."

Riley grins, glad to be back with her best friend.

Maya hums, as if she is still thinking.

Riley lightly shoves Maya's shoulder. "What's going on in that head of years?"

Maya stares at her intently, trying to decipher her expression. "But is that really the only reason you've been so eager to spend time with Farkle?" She raises a brow.

"Um, of course," Riley laughs nervously, "Why else? It's not like I feel any different about him than before. At all. Besides, we've been a trio for so long. It just feels right that way, doesn't it?"

"Mmhmm. But things change. Time does that. Just look at me and Huckleberry. Who would've thought we'd go from hating each other to this?"

A silence follows. Riley doesn't reply. Maya looks suspicious, but she decides to drop it for now when she sees the look on Riley's face.

"So, should we get out there?" Maya slings an arm around Riley's shoulder, tugging her closer to her side.

"Sure thing," Riley replies, feeling lighter than she has for days.

They walk out into the living area where more of their classmates have joined in. There's music playing and everyone's still eating the snacks Topanga put out.

Cory spots Riley and Maya coming out of his daughter's room. "Well look who it is! It's about time these girls joined the party!"

Auggie, with a surplus of popcorn flowing out of his mouth, adds, "Yamph, its abouph timph."

Riley and Maya laugh at Auggie's inability to form even a syllable. Mid-giggle, Riley catches Farkle's eye from across the room, where he's caught in a conversation with Lucas and Zay. His eyes are locked with hers and it's like they silently communicate their need to talk.

She has no idea what to say to him. If she started talking to him and hanging out with him like they have been, she might lose Maya again. She is not gonna take that chance.

Farkle excuses himself from the guys' conversation and walks over to where Riley stands.

"Can we talk?" he asks roughly.

Maya grins knowingly. "I'll take that as my cue to leave." As Maya retreats behind Farkle's figure, she turns back to wink at Riley. Riley chooses to ignore it.

"Sure," Riley agrees, suddenly too aware of the unanswered messages in her phone.

Riley leads him near the living room's window, away from the others.

"Riley, what's this about?" Farkle holds up his phone, showing her the screen of his unanswered texts.

Riley trained her eyes on everything in the room but him. "I can't talk about this right now, Farkle. Maya and I just made up."

"Good, I'm happy for you two, but how is that an excuse for casting me aside?"

"I wish I could explain this to you, but-," she sighs, running a hand through her hair.

"But?"

"But, I-it's just not a good time right now." Riley needs to stall until she can make sure her and Maya are solid again.

"Well, when will be a good time for you? Because lately, it seems like you'd rather not talk at all."

Riley groans out of frustration, throwing her hands up. "Farkle, no, that's not true."

Farkle maintains a straight face, looking down at her. "Then explain how you've been acting."

"I told you, I can't right now."

"Well then I can't be around you right now," Farkle brushes past her shoulder, grabbing his jacket.

"Farkle! That's not-,"

Riley is cut off by the door slamming shut behind him. Her classmates spin to face her, Maya turns to look back at her with an eyebrow raised, and all Riley can do is stare blankly at where Farkle just stood.


	10. Summer Solstice Part 1

It's been a week since Farkle stormed away from her. They haven't talked since. Riley spent the last few days hanging out with Maya and helping out at Topanga's, where she promised she'd work this summer. She's been trying hard to push the thought of Farkle from her mind, but every time she lets her mind drift, she sees his angry eyes before he slammed the door to her apartment.

She's just finishing up the last batch of customers for the morning rush when she hears the bells at the door. Her gaze remains on her task at hand until she hears a voice she would recognize anywhere.

"Hi, I'd like a nitro cold brew with sweet cream."

_Farkle. _

Riley freezes and refuses to turn to face him. Thankfully, her mom is at the register and takes his order down on her notepad. "Coming right up! How are you doing Farkle? I haven't seen you in a bit."

Riley hears Farkle hesitate before responding. "Yeah, I've been busy lately. How are you?"

"Good, good thanks for asking," Topanga replies. "Riley! Why don't you make Farkle his order?"

"Umm, sure. I'll get right on it," Riley manages to agree without lifting her eyes to meet his.

She grabs a new cup and starts making his drink, pouring the cream into the coffee, when she notices him walk over to her side of the counter. Farkle leans over the counter on his elbows and discreetly asks Riley, "Hey, can we talk?"

Riley somehow focuses harder on stirring his drink. "Maybe after my shift."

"It's really important," he urges, "Please Riles."

Riley sighs. "Okay. Since the morning rush is over, I guess I could slip out for a little."

Farkle smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Great." He leans back, away from the counter.

Riley finishes preparing his drink, places the cap on the cup and hands it to him. Their fingers brush, only for a second, and Riley snaps her hand back as if she was burned. Farkle just turns to walk out of Topanga's, expecting Riley to follow.

Riley turns to her mom and says she'll be right back. Topanga takes one look between her and Farkle's retreating form and nods. Riley tucks a hair behind her ear and unties her apron to walk outside.

Farkle stands there, looking more nervous than he ever has in her presence.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Riley asks, wringing her hands.

"I don't know if you remember, but I got accepted into that NYU Astrophysics Summer Program."

"Oh! Right! I knew you would get in as soon as you applied" a smile begins to form on her face before she remembers the state of their friendship.

Farkle averts his gaze. "Yeah. Well, it starts tomorrow. And it lasts a month. So I won't be home for a while since I'm rooming on campus."

"Right," Riley taps her foot on the ground. She doesn't like the idea of being a whole entire month away from Farkle, and she couldn't bring herself to think about him leaving without feeling sad. "I remember."

Farkle takes a deep breath. "Yeah, so I just wanted to talk to you before I go. I wanted to clear the air between us because you're my best friend and I didn't want to leave, especially with the way things are right now."

At the word "best friend," Riley is immediately reminded of her conversation with Maya and how she was neglecting one of her best friends in favor of her other one. She doesn't want to do that again and she's scared that if she lets Farkle too close, it'll hurt her relationship with Maya again. Riley looks up into Farkle's expectant wide eyes. Why did she let Farkle get so close and Maya so distant? A better question might be why Farkle got closer to her in the first place? All her problems with Maya really started with Farkle, didn't they?

"Farkle, I don't know how to say this, but our friendship tore a rift between me and Maya. And that scared me. I'm so sorry but I need space. Okay? I wish you would respect that." Riley could see the hurt in his eyes from her words.

"I just want to fix things between us. I leave tomorrow morning and I don't want this to be where we leave off," he argued, shaking the coffee cup in his hand.

"There just isn't enough time to fix things before you go. You know I'm gonna miss you so much but I think we need to take a step back for now, for Maya's sake" she said back.

Farkle shook his head. "Riley, I can't help but see how illogical this is. You and Maya will definitely work it out. We've all been friends for years and it's never been a problem before. Look, I'm sorry if me spending more time with you resulted in Maya feeling rejected, but that's something that we can learn and move on from. And I'm not going to apologize for spending time with my favorite person."

Farkle reaches out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Riley dodges it and crosses her arms. His arm drops to his side uselessly.

"I think you should go. I'll text you…" she averts her eyes and looks to the floor like it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen, unable to see Farkle's face scrunched up in confusion and pain.

Without another word, she turns back towards Topanga's and the bells sound happily, contrasting with the scene she just left behind.

* * *

Farkle doesn't know what to expect when he walks onto the NYU campus. There were program leaders greeting him at the entrance. His parents had wished him off the night before, and he came here via subway with nothing but his bag packed for a month.

He says hello to the people greeting him and takes a seat in the front row of the orientation session, flipping through the pamphlet he was handed. After a moment or two, a lanky boy with round glasses and dark hair takes the seat beside him.

"Hey," he smiles.

Farkle looks up, not expecting anyone to talk to him so fast. "Oh, hey."

"I'm Spencer! Nice to meet you," he holds his hand out for Farkle to shake.

Farkle accepts. "I'm Farkle. Farkle Minkus. "

"Oh, like the software company," Spencer asks.

Farkle hates being reminded of the reasons why his dad can't spend time with the family, but he nods. "That's the one. So, how are you feeling about the program so far?"

"Dude, we've been here for like five minutes. I'm just waiting for the food to get served," he laughs.

Farkle can't help but laugh with him. Spencer's energy is contagious and by the time the speaker comes up to the front of the room, they're joking about decaying particles.

The speaker explains the program and their living assignments, as well as basic amenities and rules. They would have to assist research interns, attend astrophysics lectures, and write a research paper by the end of the program. At first, Farkle feels overwhelmed, but as he looks to his new friend he can tell from his gaping expression that he's not alone. This is gonna be a busy month, Farkle thinks to himself, but at least he knows someone here now and the program looks exciting.

Once it's over, they get their room assignments from the speaker's assistants.

"I got room 7B," Farkle tells Spencer.

"Man, I got room 7D."

Farkle shrugs. "We can hang out whenever we have free time."

"Yeah! Why don't we try to find our rooms?"

Farkle agrees and follows Spencer to the elevator, where many of the other program members are filing in. Once the elevator doors open to the seventh floor, Spencer's eyes immediately light up.

"Oh my god, when did you get here? I was looking for you everywhere," Spencer laughs, walking up to a tall boy with black hair and broad shoulders.

"I was like the last one in," the boy says sheepishly.

Spencer looks to Farkle. "Jai, I want you to meet my new friend, Farkle. Farkle, this is my boyfriend Jai."

Jai reaches his hand out towards Farkle. "Nice to meet you," Farkle smiles, shaking Jai's hand, glad to have made another friend so quickly.

"What room are you guys in?" Jai asks.

"7D," Spencer frowns.

"Damnit," Jai says. "We should've called ahead."

"I'm in 7B," Farkle says.

"No way! Me too," Jai replies.

"Alright, I guess I know which room I'll be spending all my freetime in then!" Spencer jokes.

The three of them erupt into laughter and Farkle can't help but think things are already looking up.

A couple hours pass and they have the first day free to settle in. Farkle mostly reviews the pamphlet and sends a few texts to people back home like Lucas and Zay just updating them on how things went at orientation.

Spencer and Jai crack jokes in the room, raiding the sweets that the program leaders left for them in the rooms. Farkle notices and chuckles.

"Guys, dinner is literally in ten minutes."  
Spencer and Jai share a look, mouths full of food, before they burst out laughing and Farkle joins in.

The three of them walk downstairs to the dining hall, grab food from the buffet, and sit down at an empty table. Soon after, two girls walk up to their table.

"Jai! We were wondering where you got off to," the taller girl with the red hair says.

"Oh hey guys!" Jai smiles brightly at them. He turns to Farkle and Spencer. "I'd like you to meet Vivianne and Daniela. I met these two at the orientation session"

The shorter girl with the dark brown hair, Daniela, says, "Hi! You can call me Dani."

"I'm Farkle, nice to meet you guys," he says with a grin plastered on his face.

"And I'm Spencer," he says as he winks.

"Ahhh, we've already heard a lot about you Spencer" remarks Vivianne.

"All good things I hope…" Spencer teases as he elbows Jai, who shoves him back playfully.

Farkle invites them to sit at the table and they place their trays down, Vivianne sitting in the spot beside him.

"So, where are you from?" she asks him, twisting her hair around her finger.

"Actually, I'm from right here in New York. You?"

"No way," she says, "I wish I was from here, that's so cool. I'm from Virginia, I love it there."

Farkle turns to the others, "What about you guys? Where are you from?"

Vivianne reluctantly turns her attention to the rest of the table.

"We're both from California," Jai says.

Dani replies, "I'm from Boston!"

They all continue talking about their favorite things from home and what they're excited for about the program. While they're all talking, Vivianne subtly leans closer to Farkle.

"Hey, I hope one day during our free time you can show me around the city sometime. I mean, since you must know it so well" she leans her cheek into her palm and lightly touches his arm on the table.

Farkle shrugs, oblivious to Vivianne's directness. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

Vivianne just grins back, lightly squeezing his arm. "Great, sounds like a date."

Farkle does a double take and gets flustered. Immediately, his mind went to Riley and he questioned what she would think. "Oh! Uh…"

"I mean, sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I swear. I just meant it would definitely be cool to hang out."

He realizes that it doesn't matter what Riley thinks at this point because she's expressed that she wants nothing to do with him. "No, it's fine. Can't wait!"

Looking around, Farkle couldn't help but feel glad that he has friends for the next month.

* * *

It's been four days since Farkle left for the program and Riley has been bored. She's thought about Farkle often and can't help feeling weird about where things stand between them. After journaling and reflecting on the past week, she has realized she wasn't mad at Farkle at all. In reality, she was mad at herself and the choices she made, and she unfairly projected those feelings onto him. If anyone was to blame for her fight with Maya it was herself.

She has a lot to apologize to Farkle for, but she doesn't know where to begin, especially because he's not here. That led her to thinking that she should've said sorry when she had the chance to in person because this whole thing was just a result of her being too proud to admit blame.

Riley decides to suck it up and call him because at least it's a start to mending their friendship. She lies back on her bed that evening and dials his number before she can think about it too much.

Back at NYU, Farkle is laughing with Spencer and Jai in his room when his phone vibrates loudly on his desk.

"Well, aren't you gonna get that?" Spencer prods.

"Ooh, who is it?" Jai laughs.

Farkle rolls his eyes, ready to ignore the call. "Probably my mom again."

Spencer looks at the screen, glowing brightly on the table, when he says, "You sure about that?"

His brow is raised and Farkle looks to him in confusion, before Spencer holds the phone up and shows him the screen. On it, he sees the familiar name he's been waiting to see for days: "Riles 3"

Farkle's face lights up and he immediately bounces off the bed and bounds towards where Spencer sat with his phone. He takes it in his hand and walks outside to the room's balcony to take the call privately. Just before he closes the balcony sliding door, he hears Spencer remark to Jai, "What's that all about?"

Farkle accepts the call, takes a deep breath, and presses the phone to his ear.

Riley's voice immediately comes through the speaker and he feels relief flood his senses. "Hey Farkle!" she exclaims. He can tell that she's trying to be extra positive to counteract her nerves.

"Hey, Riley!" his voice sounds more excited than it has in days. "It's so good to hear from you. It's been too long."

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry. I just...I don't know exactly how to put what I'm feeling into words. But I miss you. Like a lot."

Farkle is nearly stunned by her admission, but he is thankful that they seemed to be on the track to making up. "I've definitely missed you too. Ever since our fight at your house."

She sighs. "I'm sorry about that, Farkle. I wish I could see you in person to explain myself and express how sorry I really am."

He feels a smirk forming on his lips. "Well I guess you'll just have to visit me then."

A moment of silence passes between them and he questions himself, opening his mouth to retract his invitation, when she laughs.

"Of course," he can hear her smile in her words, "I couldn't go a month without seeing you. Let alone two weeks."

"So I'll see you next weekend?" he asks, trying to keep hopeful desperation out of his voice. He hopes when they see each other they can actually work this out.

"You bet," she can't contain the smile growing on her face when they hang up.

She's so glad that they got the chance to talk it out. Mindlessly, she clicks on Instagram to pass time and sees that Farkle actually put up a story.

She clicks on it happily, excited to see what he's been up to. After all, they only talked for a few minutes. When she does, she immediately regrets it. It's a picture of Farkle sandwiched in between two girls she's never seen before, and one of them has her hand on his arm. She has red hair, a big smile, and unbeatable cheekbones. She's gorgeous, and she's got her arm on Farkle. It's all Riley can see in the photo.

Why is her hand wrapped around his arm? How would they be this close already? She's clearly beautiful, does he see that as well? He must. And she's probably smart too, considering the program they're both in. Suddenly all of the joy from the phone call drains out of her body. Why is this girl so close to him? And more importantly, why does Riley care?


	11. Summer Solstice Part 2

Farkle laughs, taking a bite of his toast at breakfast. Today's Friday, meaning Farkle couldn't stop thinking about Riley coming tomorrow. The anticipation of her visit made it hard to be in a foul mood. He realized throughout the week, when contemplating his thoughts about her, that maybe he has stronger feelings towards her than he ever let himself believe. A part of him knew the way he has felt for so long, but another part felt too vulnerable to consider the possibility of her returning his feelings.

He's sitting next to Vivianne as he laughs in response to a horrible pun Spencer made.

"So where are you guys going today?" Jai asks the table. Everyone in the program is given the day off to explore NYC and observe what the city has to offer, such as its many museums and its rich history.

"Well, I was planning to visit my cousin. She lives here and I figure this is the best time to go," Dani says.

Spencer smiles, pulling Jai into his side. "Sounds fun. Me and this one are gonna get some majorly needed alone time."

Jai rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah sure. We actually have tickets to see Hamilton."

Vivianne gasps, "No way. You win."

"Wow. I'm impressed you got tickets. I haven't even been and I live here," Farkle adds. "I was thinking about checking out one of the nearby planetariums."

Vivianne whips her head around to face him. "Oh?" Vivianne inquires, "That's funny. It just so happens that I was thinking about going to a planetarium too."

Spencer looks between them suspiciously, but nobody at the table seems to notice.

"Uh, really? Well it wouldn't hurt to have a fellow astronomy enthusiast tag along. I was thinking of going to the Hayden Planetarium in the Museum of Natural History. You in?"

"Of course! How soon can we leave? I'm ready when you are."

"Alright Viv, then let's go."

Everyone at the table discards the remains of their breakfast and sets off on their own paths for the day.

* * *

Viv grabs Farkle's arm and loops her own through his. They've been walking down the street to the coffee place Farkle told Viv she needs to try. Java City is one of his favorites. They walk in and grab their orders, Viv chatting excitedly about her research project. They begin walking to the Hayden Planetarium as they talk.

"So, what do you do for fun, besides being a genius?" Viv teasingly asks.

Farkle doesn't know what to do with the sudden praise. "Thanks. Well I love to read books on aviation, watch Star Wars, and play video games."

"Oh my gosh, no way. Those are my exact hobbies!" Viv exclaims.

"Really?" Farkle questions. "Not many people like to spend time reading about planes."

"Yeah, oh definitely. I love the aerodynamics of...a plane and I watch videos on planes whenever I have down time."

Farkle quirks a brow. "Oh cool, what videos?"

"Tons. Anyway, what's your favorite video game?"

"Zombie Killer 5000," Farkle answers, ignoring the jolt to his heart when he remembers the last time he played was with Riley. Riley won of course.

"You're kidding! I just got the new version of that game. It's really exciting, don't you agree?""

"Yeah, although I believe there's only one version of Zombie Killer 5000."

"Yeah yeah, I must've meant that one of course." Farkle and Vivianne have just reached the front steps of the Museum of Natural History. Farkle barely has enough time to register what she just said before she changes the subject. "Should we go in?"

"After you," Farkle smiles as they head into the planetarium.

It's dark, and they fumble trying to find a good seat. They trip over the nearest row and settle in for the show. Across the dark expanse of the ceiling, Farkle looks up in amazement. The excitement Farkle gets when going to a planetarium never dulls, despite his tendency to attend a show on a monthly basis.

A booming voice describes the sight as constellations flicker back and forth. Vivianne takes the time to really look at Farkle. She admires the silhouette of his profile against the stars. Maybe this could be the summer she gets a guy without having to deal with an obnoxious girlfriend. Farkle hasn't mentioned a girl yet, or so much as looked at another one who wasn't Viv. She knows she shouldn't get her hopes up, but she can't help it. And besides, she thinks, even if there was someone in his life, they couldn't be better than her.

Viv leans to her right, towards Farkle, and lightly touches his arm before whispering, "Isn't it crazy how small you feel in a planetarium?"

It takes a second for Farkle to break out of his focus on the commentary. "Yeah," he breathes, "it feels like the universe is closing in on you."

"Exactly! I was gonna say the same thing."

Farkle eyes her, with a slight cock of his head. Is it just him or does she seem to agree with every word that falls from his lips? "Yeah? I guess it's good we have so much in common." Farkle notices that her hand never left his arm, and wonders if he can somehow subtly shake it off.

"So, missing anything back home?" Viv asks, a tilt to her voice. "Or.. anyone?"

Hearing Viv start a conversation, Farkle gives up on paying attention to the commentary about space. He practically knows it by heart anyway.

"Well, it's good to be away for a while. But I left my best friend in the middle of an argument and I feel bad about that," Farkle admits.

"A best friend? What's he like?" she prods.

"Actually it's a her. Riley Matthews. I've known her all my life. She's really smart and cares a lot about everything and everyone, but things have been different lately. Still I don't know what my life would be like without her." Farkle feels glad to be able to talk to someone outside of his usual friend group. It feels like a breath of fresh air. Viv is taken aback by the way Farkle's eyes lit up when he spoke about her. "What about you, though?" he asks.

"I'm pretty glad to be away. I had a rocky relationship with this boy named Marco. He and I were really close but it seems we were too good friends to date. He didn't take that well, of course."

"Oh no," Farkle replies. "I'm sorry." Farkle doesn't know what else to say, or if he should say anything. He goes with, "He'd have to be a real idiot."

Vivianne brightens at that. "It's okay. Have you dealt with anything like that? I'm sure you have."  
Farkle chuckles. "Nothing like that. Just a lot of unwanted feelings at the moment."

"Oh?" Vivianne feels a spark of hope rise in her chest.

"Normally, I'm not one to focus on my feelings. I'm more of a logical guy if you couldn't tell," Farkle jokes. "But sometimes you just know, you know?"

"Yeah I know," she grins, leaning a fraction closer.

Just like before, he hasn't had a chance to talk to anyone about his relationships or lack thereof, and he feels it rolling off of his tongue before he can bite the words back. "I can't even describe what I'm feeling in the right words and that bothers me more than anything else. It's like what I'm feeling is so great, for once words won't do it justice. I haven't even had time to process it all."

Viv leans closer, only about a breath away from Farkle. "I feel the same," she whispers. Farkle nods, thinking she came closer because the commentator was speaking so loudly, but the next moment changes his mind. She cuts the distance between them in half and her eyes flutter shut. At once, realization dawns across Farkle's face. Is she about to kiss him right now? But he thought they were just good friends.

At the moment before her lips brush his own, he turns his head to face the front, eyes steely and brows furrowed. Her lips graze his cheek instead. "Viv...I'm sorry. But I can't do this. I'm...in love with someone else."

The words sound pained coming out of his mouth and he immediately realizes that this was the first time he'd admitted it out loud, even to himself. It seems so hard to accept that they're true, that someone like him could really be in love with his best friend for life, but at the same time he saw it coming ever since he laid eyes on her.

Vivianne's face hardens and she moves as far away from him as she can in her seat. He feels the entire room go still with the tension heavy between them.

"I'm sorry," he repeats. "You're amazing, but I think we should just be friends."

Vivianne looks down at her feet. She doesn't look back up until the show is over. Farkle doesn't know what to say, so he says nothing. Walking back to campus, the mood is nothing like it was on their walk over. It feels tainted by the almost-moment they shared beneath the stars.


End file.
